Transportable storage device



Nov. 28, 1961 R. R. GIOVANNELLI 3,010,775

TRANSPORTABLE STORAGE DEVICE Filed Feb. 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ,eqm/m/aeaomwau A 77'02A/E Y i ed St es Paw O1 3,010,775 TRANSPORTABLE STORAGE DEVICE Raymond R. Giovannelli, 15501 NE. 15th Place, North Miami Beach, Fla.

Filed Feb. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 794,090 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-217) This invention relates to a transportable storage device, and itparticularly relates-to a storage device adaptable to the storage of various different items-of sports equipment such as baseballs, bats, mitts, etc., which is thereby made readily available on the field. V

Heretofore, the various items used in baseball games and the like were stored in the clubhouse in fixed lockers or shelves and then carried out to the field either loose or in a bag, when needed. If no clubhouse was available, as in the case of sandlot or Little League teams, these various items of equipment had to be carried in clumsy and bulky bags or the like from the car, bus or whatever conveyance was used to get to the ball field. In some instances, it was necessary to Walk all the way from home with these articles. way to transport the equipment, but often some necessary items would be forgotten or lost on. the way.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above difliculties by providing a storage device which is easily transportable and which also serves to elfectively store each item of equipment in its proper place.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage device of the aforesaid type which is easily locked when not in use in the field.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage device of the aforesaid type which is relatively simple in construction and which is easily adjustable for difierent items.

This application is a continuation-in-part of Serial No.

675,633, filed August 1, 1957, and-shows an improvement in the device of said'former application, now Patent No. 2,905,480, issued September 22, 1959.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an.

improved storage device, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly eflicient in'operation.

With the above and related objects in-view, this inven tion consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a storage device embodying the present inventiomthe device being shown in the open condition.

FIG. 2 is a sectionalview taken on line 22 of FIG; 3 is a top plan view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 i'sa sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 isa sectional view t ak en on line 55 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the storage device of FIG. 1 in closed position.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, somewhat similar to the fore portion of FIG. 4, but showing a modified form of locking means.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary front elevational view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a storage device, generally designated 10, comprising a housing 12 of generally rectangular shape and having an open front to each edge of which is hinged a door, as at 14 and 16. The top of the housing 12 is also open and is closed by a pair of oppositely hinged covers This was not only an inconvenient- 3,010,775 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 18 and 20, the cover 20 having a flange 22 adapted to.

overlie cover 20.

In order to simultaneously lock both the doors 14 and 16 and the top covers 18 and 20 in closed position, a locking mechanism is provided on the inner side of the door 14 adjacent its outer edge. This locking mechanism. includes a disc 24 mounted on a pin 26 extending through.

the door 14 to its front face. The pin 26 is rotatable in the door 14 and is provided with a handle 28 on the.

outside face of the door.

Eccentrically connected to opposite peripheral portions.

of the disc 24 are a pair of bars respectively designated 30 and 32. The bar 30 extends upwardly through a guide bracket 34 on the door 14 and is adapted, in its upper position, to extend through a slot in the upper flange 36 of the door 14. The bar 32 extends downwardly through a guide bracket 38 on the door 14. 4

The. disc 24 is also provided with a finger 40 which serves as a latch bar. This latch bar or finger 40 is connected to rotate with the disc 24 around the axis of the pin 26. a

In the operation of the above described locking mechanism, when the doors 14 and 16 are closed and the covers 18 and 20 are brought into the closed position wherein flange 22 overlies the adjacent edge of cover 20 (as in FIG. 6), the handle 28 is turned to rotate the disc 24 When the latch handle 28 has been rotated to bring the latch bar 40 into the aforementioned latching position, the bar 30 has also. been raised to bring its upper end through the slot in the flange 36 of the door 14 as well as through a corresponding slot in'the cover 18 (as best shown in FIG. 6). The upper end of the bar 30 is apertnred, as at 46, so that when it is in the position shown in FIG. 6, any ordinary hasp lock may be inserted through this aperture 46 and closed. This looks both the doors 14 and 16 as well as the covers 18 and 20 in the closed.

position.

Thecovers 18 and 20 are also provided with knobs 48 and 50 respectively. These knobs 48 and 50 are set close to the forward edge of their respective covers 18 and 20 and are used as handles to open and close the covers,

and also as abutments to hold the front doors 14 and 16.

in open position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2..

At the upper rear of the housing 12 is provided a push handle 52 of generally U-shaped contour while at the bottom of the housing 12 is provided aniaxle 54 on which is mounted a pair of wheels 56. This axle 54, and consequently the wheels 56, are positioned at the rear of the housing 12 while at the front lower end are provided two oppositely positioned stationary feet or blocks 58. A pivoted brake lever 60 is provided on the rear wall of the housing 12 adjacent the lower edge thereof and between the wheels 56. This lever 60, when stepped on, cams brake arm 61 into brake-holding position against the sides of wheels 56.

Within the housing 12 are provided two main compartments 62 and 64 separated-by a vertical partition or wall 66. Both compartments 62 and 64 are provided with vertical notched bars 68 adjacent each corner. These notched bars serve to adjustably support shelves of various types in their notches and also serve as vertical guide or spacer bars to laterally support vertically extending inner containers or cells against lateral movement.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the bars 68 in compartment 62 support, at their upper portions, a partition 70 upon which is set an open tray 72 for holding cups, glasses or the like indicated at 74. Spaced below the partition 70 is a partition 76 upon which is positioned a glass or transparentplastic container78 for holding drinking water or other liquids. A similar container 80 is set upon a partition 82 spaced below the partition 76. These containers 78 and 80-are preferably of the open-top type having a top lid or cover, as at 84 and 86 respectively.

They also each have a push button spout at the front end, as at 88 and 90 respectively. In order to hold the lids tightly on the jam or containers 78 and 80, and at the same time to hold the containers themselves securely in place, bowed springs respectively indicated at 92 and 94 are positioned between the lower surfaces of partitions 70 and 76 and the lids of the respective containers therebelow.

Below the lower partition or shelf 82 is provided a storage cell 96 which may be utilized to hold a baseball catchers shin guards or the like.

In the other main compartment 64 there is shown a rear storage bin 98 of elongated vertical dimension. This bin 98 extends the full vertical length of the housing 12 and is held against lateral movement by the bars 68 at each side. The bin 98 is open at front and back and is divided into three sections by vertical walls or partitions 1 and each of these sections is adapted to receive a number of baseball bats. Each section may, for example, hold a difierent type or weight of bat so that the player may instantly choose the particular bat he wishes, A short rectangular collar 102 is providedat the upper end around the bin 98 while a similar collar 104 is provided at the lower end, (note particularly FIG. 2). These collars 102 and 104 keep the bats from falling forwardly or 'rearwardly out of the bin 98.

Forwardly of the bin 98 within the compartment 64 there is provided, at the upper portion, a bin 106 supported against lateral movement by bars 68 and divided into three sections by vertical, walls or partitions 108. Each of these sections is adapted to hold a vertical row of baseballs or similar objects (as best shown in FIGS. 1

and 2). The front of the bin 106 is partially covered by I a front wall 110 forming part of a rectangular collar extending around the bin 106. This front wall 110 extends down to a position short of the lower end of the bin by about the diameter of a baseball (as best shown in FIG. 1) for the purpose of providing a lower aperture from which the balls may be removed. The wall 110 isalso provided with threevertical rows of .apertures 112 to make visible how many balls are in each row. v

The floor of the bin 106 is. provided bythe upper leg of a shelf or partition 114 which is shaped like the letter U lying on one side. Within this U-shelf there is provided a drawer 116 having a knob 118 for pulling it out andv pushing itrin. This drawer 116 can hold various small items such as bandages, tape, medicines, etc.

Below the U-shelf 114 there is provided a shelf or partition 120 supported on any selectedpair of notches in two of the bars 68 which divides the remainder of the forward portion of the compartment 64 into two vertically arranged chambers. One of these chambers may be used to hold a catchers mitt or the like, while the other may be used to hold a catchers mask. In this manner, most of the catchers heavy and bulky equipment may be safely and conveniently stored, since, in addition to the mitt and mask, the cell 96 is adapted to hold his shin guards, as previously shown.

A preferred form of latch mechanism for the doors and top covers has been described above. However, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a modification. In this modification, the door 124 has a conventional spring pressed, pivoted elbow catch 126 mounted on its inside surface to cooperate with a keeper 128 mounted on the partition 130. Extending through the other door 132 is a key operable locking knob 134 having a latch bolt 136 for extending through aligned slots in the mating flanges 137 of front doors 124 and 132 for locking the front doors. Top door 138 has a flange 139 to overlie top door 140, and is also provided with a key operable locking knob 142 having a latch'bolt 144 cooperating with a front frame cross bar 146 for holding the top doors locked.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limting, since the inventionmay be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

7 Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

A transportable storage device comprising a generally rectangular, vertically elongated housing, said housing I being substantially closed but having an open top and an open front, a pair of hinged, opposed doors closing said front and a pair of hinged, opposed top covers covering said open top, latch means for said doors and said top covers, said latch means, comprising a disc on one of said doors, said disc being operatively connected to a rotatable handle for rotation thereby, a latch finger on said disc adapted. to engage with the other door upon rotation of said disc to a predetermined position when said doors are closed, a pair of latch bars eccentrically connected to said disc in opposed relationship, one of said latch bars extending upwardly and the other downwardly, the upwardly extending bar being provided with an aperture at its upper end and being arranged to pass through a slot in one of said top covers in the upper position of said latch bar, and a flange on said one top cover overlying the other top cover in closed position whereby said top covers as well as said doors are locked in latched position when a lock is positioned in the aperture at the upper end of said upwardly extending latch bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

